Preview: Margin Call

R for toxic assets, financial hubris, graphic depiction of the spreadsheets that destroyed the economy

Release Date: October 21, 2011

Another plaque for the Hall of Unnecessary Taglines: “Inspired by Real Events.”

Yeah, I think we got that one, guys.

There are taglines that might have surprised me – say, “The Feel-Good Romantic Comedy of the Summer,” or “From the Imagination of Tim Burton,” or “Not About Goldman Sachs, Really, We Swear.”

But as it is, somewhere in my puny reptilian brain, I had begun to recognize that maybe, just maybe, this was not a Lord of the Rings-style fantasy epic, but some kind of commentary on that whole Wall Street-triggered financial crisis that people have been fussing over.

Of course, this has Kevin Spacey’s fingerprints all over it. The shady deal involving mortgages is reminiscent of another recent role of Spacey’s – no, not corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff, but aspiring real estate mogul Lex Luthor. ~Ben Orlin